Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to The Earth & LEO As Test Bed.

re: The Earth & LEO As Test Bed.
Sam1970 — (archived)

Mark says: "The three days away point is STUPID given that all our fatalities have occured before leaving the Earth's atmosphere or upon return. I have never in 6 years of debating these issues heard a moon firster address this issue head on."

Then you must be deaf or not understand mission design.

There are few abort options once you leave Earth orbit for Mars. The first mission must work nearly 100% right or you have dead astronauts and a dead space program.

By contrast there are numerous abort options for lunar missions, aborts that could occur because equipment is not performing right or systems fail and you are on backups. These are abort options that result in live astronauts, not dead one. And the short cycle time of lunar missions means that the next opportunity is only a few weeks away, perhaps months at most which makes aborts a more attractive option if everything is not right.

If you read any of the Apollo 11 histories you would known that the entire focus was on the safe side of aborting is anything went wrong. And if it did then the same crew would have flown in November on Apollo 12 to attempt a first landing again.

Maybe the reason there wasn't any fatalies beyond launch or landing was because proximity to Earth allow abort options.

Look at Gemini 8? Look at Apollo 13. If either had been on the raod to Mars the astronsuts would have been dead.

Medical emergencies on the Moon have an option of an rapid Earth return or at very least telemedical help with only a couple seconds of delay. On Mars they are alone to live or die based on what limited local resources are available. And of course the experience learned on the Moon will then show what needs to be available when we go to Mars, so again it reduces the risk.

One could think of a 100 more examples where 3 days away from help is a lot better then a couple of years.

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